The 25 Companies That Give The Most Difficult Job Interviews

The job interview process tends to be nerve-racking and frustrating for many of us–but if you’re trying to get hired by Bain, Google, or Facebook, it can be even more strenuous.

Imagine having to complete written tests, answer questions like, “How would you build an engine from scratch?” or interview with close to a dozen different people at one firm.

Terrifying, right? Well those are just some of the difficult things candidates have to do to land a job, according to Glassdoor.com, a jobs and career website where people share information and opinions about companies, interviews, compensation, and leadership.

Glassdoor just released its 2013 list of the Top 25 Most Difficult Companies to Interview, based entirely on experiences from recent job candidates. The website dug through more than 170,000 interview ratings and reviews shared throughout the past year to uncover the list.

According to reviews on the Glassdoor site, the company with the toughest interview process for a second consecutive year is the prestigious consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The average interview difficulty rating is 3.9 out of 5. However, 77% of interviewees said they had a positive experience—despite the difficulty—while 12% reported it was negative.

What makes interviews at McKinsey & Company so hard?

Management consultant candidates, for instance, are asked to work through and solve a business case. “In this situation McKinsey is looking to see how candidates organize their thoughts and process them to find a solution,” says Samantha Zupan, a spokesperson for Glassdoor.

A candidate in Chicago said that while he met very interesting and capable people along the way, the interview process itself was” grueling.” “Training for case studies in parallel to a full time executive job is not easy - but also very motivating.” A business analysis candidate said the firm asked the following question:“How would you calculate the annual carbon emissions from electric versus gas vehicles in the EU?”

Going through a tough interview process may be off-putting—but it could be worth it, too. Overall, McKinsey earned an average employee satisfaction rating of 4.3 out of 5 from its workers.

“If an employer has a clear, well defined interview process that seeks to set expectations about what the job involves, as well as looks to get to know the candidate, where their interests lie and how they can help move the company forward, it’s a natural correlation to see higher employee satisfaction rates given that candidates will have a clearer idea as to what the job entails and where the company is headed,” Zupan says.

In the No. 2 and No. 3 spots are ThoughtWorks and Boston Consulting Group. Recent job candidates gave these two companies interview difficulty ratings of 3.9 and 3.8, respectively. The vast majority (73%) reported a positive experience and 14% a negative one at ThoughtWorks, a software design and delivery firm that employs 2,000 people in 28 offices around the world. Seventy-four percent reported a positive experience interviewing at consulting firm BCG; 12% said it was negative.

A software engineer candidate at ThoughtWorks was asked to tell a story of which the title is “Green Hat.”

Another candidate said the hiring process is “really thorough." “Even for an operational role I had seven interviews," she wrote. "While this is exhausting it's also really helpful because I got to meet lots of people I would be working with, and ask questions - and get really honest answers. It seems to be as much about whether you want to work there, as whether they want you.”

Boston Consulting candidates also have to jump through hoops to land a job. A candidate there suggests you brush up on basic math before an interview at BCG, “especially multiplication and division, and practice in front of someone as it simulates the pressure you'll have. It seems like even a simple math error can doom you, so practice.”

A Boston Consulting Group candidate in Philadelphia was asked: “If I took your resume and removed the name at the top, what line on your resume would make your friends read it and recognize you?”

Zupan says, “Often challenging and difficult interviews along with seemingly oddball interview questions can be an effective way to see how candidates think and provide an opportunity to get to know the candidate better. When you have to think on your toes in a stressful situation like a job interview, it can help showcase how you think through problems when the pressure is on.”

Big names like Google, P&G, Microsoft, and Facebook also rank among the top 25.

Zupan says if you’re nervous about the interview, plan ahead and practice how you would handle the various scenarios you think you may encounter during the interview process.

“Before an interview every candidate should be prepared to ask questions, do research about the company and the job, and think through responses to a range of interview questions, from common ones like ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ to oddball questions like ‘How many ping-pong balls fit inside a 747?.’ The more due diligence a candidate does ahead of time, the better prepared he or she will feel for the interview.”

For example, if you have an opportunity to speak to a recruiter or hiring manager on the phone before you walk into an in-person interview, ask them who you’ll be meeting with, how long you should plan to be there, what the interview setup will be like, and so on, she suggests.

Here’s Glassdoor’s list of the 25 Companies That Give the Toughest Job Interviews: